Each year manufacturers and federal safety regulators initiate safety recalls for a number of baby- and child-focused products. One major retailer wants to ensure you’ve rid your home of these potentially dangerous items by offering discounts if you trade in the goods for new ones. [More]

If you’re a gadgetophile like me, you love firmware updates because it’s like giving your smartphone, camera, or other mp3 player a mini-makeover. If you’re normal, however, don’t rush into it—the best thing to do is wait a bit and see what problems are reported from the front line. Take for instance this issue between 3G iPhones and Exchange servers, which no longer play well with each other after yesterday’s 3.1 iPhone OS upgrade.

The Auburn Hills, MI Circuit City refuses to exchange Eric’s broken TV, even though, according to Circuit City’s help desk, he is eligible for an exchange under his service plan. Eric purchased an open-box 17″ Magnavox LCD with built-in DVD player; it stopped ejecting disks, trapping his daughter’s sign-language DVD inside. Circuit City sent the unit for repair, but the TV was totaled. Eric was told to go back for an exchange unit.

Upon returning to the store, I was not happy to hear that the store would not exchange my TV because (1) it was an open box item, and (2) the only similar unit to mine cost $200 more than what I paid. I asked for and was given a copy of the service plan guidelines, which clearly state that items covered under a service plan are treated like new, sealed box items and qualify for the usual Circuit City exchange and return policy. I then called the phone number on the service plan and was told that the exchange should happen even if the replacement was a greater cost than the original. However, Greg (the store director) said there was no way he was exchanging the TV in his store. Left with no other option, and per the service agreement, I then asked for a gift card in the amount of purchase so I could pick out another TV. Greg also refused this, saying that gift cards are not issued for these issues, and that I would have to find another open-box item as a replacement.